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The value and usage of ticket flexibility for short haul business travellers [An article from: Journal of Air Transport Management]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Air Transport Management, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Fully flexible business class and ''full economy'' airline tickets are aimed at meeting the needs of business travellers whose travel requirements may change after a ticket is purchased. The provision of these products has implications for airlines' revenue management systems, which may lead to overbooking and denied boarding. Low-cost carriers have developed a method by which tickets can be changed only when required. This paper investigates the usage and value of ticket flexibility by business travellers as the popularity of high fare-fully flexible tickets has fallen in recent years. A survey of 284 business travellers showed that business travellers change their flight arrangements in only 32% of short haul trips. A stated preference study investigated the likelihood of respondents to change tickets in three hypothetical scenarios. The results indicate that to extend a business trip for business purposes travellers are confident that their company will bear the cost of changing a ticket valuing additional time at about @$54 per hour but that the value of personal time when travelling is fairly low at @$15 per hour. The study concludes that business travellers do not need to change their tickets often and that when they do, low-cost carriers offer a more cost-efficient method of providing ticket flexibility. This pay-for-usage approach to ticket flexibility undermines the traditional airlines' pricing structures and this has contributed to the reduced, relative value of business class and full economy class tickets for short haul air travel.

After entering my payment info at nwa.com, I was greeted by this block of text, centered on a sea of white.

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5) I really needed the card expiration field obfuscated by bullets? My zip code?

The next day, I made a software purchase through kagi.com. They said that if I was in the Verified by Visa program, I might be asked for a password. I wasn't. I feel more secure already!

How are high gas prices affecting you? The Province e-street.

We asked readers:

With gas prices and a teetering economy affecting everything from the price of food and clothes to airline tickets, are you changing your spending habits or lifestyle to reflect this?

"I live on the Sunshine Coast. With skyrocketing gas prices, carbon taxes, outrageous ferry fees, fuel surcharges and increased cost of basic necessities, I am going to stay put for a while and stop spending. I am amazed that government and industry were warned about this 40 years ago and we are still dependent on planet-destroying fossil fuels, which are running out. -- Duane Burnett, Sechelt, BC.


June 26, 2008


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What do you do when the best and the worst moment of your life happens at the exact same time? Henry (Zach Braff, Scrubs, Garden State) is not a particularly nice guy. He is a drug dealer because he is good at it. Nathalie (Isabelle Blais, Human Trafficking) is a beautiful young woman, married and about to have her first child. One night, Henry makes a wrong turn and their lives tragically collide. As Natalie s life unravels, Henry becomes her unlikely guardian angel - compassionate, charming and some much-needed calm in the storm of her life. She finds a welcome relief in the tall, rumpled stranger that seems only too willing to offer her refuge. But Henry has his own problems. His past misdeeds are catching up to him and he soon discovers that he is no longer able to outrun his past or his present. The inevitable impact of his choices forces both Henry and Nathalie to confront loss, love and life, and to ultimately decide whether the high cost of living is worth it

Bonus Features: An Interview with Zach Braff, presented by American Express; English and French with English Subtitles.